Music is not only something we consume but something we actively participate in. According to musicologist Christopher Small, most people play a role in music, and he refers to this as musicking.

Musicking is “To music is to take part, in any capacity, in a musical performance, whether by performing, by listening, by rehearsing or practising, by providing material for performance (what is called composing), or by dancing.”
— Christopher Small, Musicking: The Meanings of Performing and Listening (1998)

Rock music is not just a sound, but is an entire living ecosystem intertwined by people, places, and practices.

Musicians:

Elvis Presley

Little Richard

Chuck Berry

Musicians:

The Beatles

Jimi Hendrix

Janis Joplin

Musicians:

The Clash

Ramones

Sex Pistols

Musicians:

Queen

Led Zeppelin

Pink Floyd

Musicians:

Nirvana

Pearl Jam

Green Day

Musicians:

Arctic Monkeys

Foo Fighters

The White Stripes

┌──────────────────────

│         Songwriting & Composition       

│  → Artists / Bands                      

│  → Songwriters                          

│  → Lyricists                            

└──────────────────────

                    ↓

┌──────────────────────

│            Recording & Production       

│  → Producers                            

│  → Recording Engineers                  

│  → Session Musicians                    

│  → Mixing & Mastering Engineers         

└──────────────────────

                    ↓

┌──────────────────────

│           Distribution & Promotion      

│  → Record Labels / Indie Labels         

│  → Marketing Teams                      

│  → Social Media Managers                

│  → Publicists                           

│  → Music Video Directors                

└──────────────────────

                    ↓

┌───────────────────────

│         Tour & Concert Planning         

│  → Booking Agents                       

│  → Tour Managers                        

│  → Promoters                            

│  → Venue Coordinators                   

│  → Tour Accountants                     

└───────────────────────

                    ↓

┌───────────────────────

│         Venue Preparation & Setup       

│  → Stage Designers                      

│  → Lighting Designers                   

│  → Audio Engineers                      

│  → Load-in / Load-out Crew              

│  → Roadies / Instrument Techs           

│  → Rigging & Safety Crew                

└───────────────────────

                    ↓

┌───────────────────────

│            The Live Concert             

│  → Performers / Band                    

│  → Front-of-House Sound Engineers       

│  → Monitor Engineers                    

│  → Lighting Operators                   

│  → Stagehands                           

│  → Security Staff                       

│  → Bar & Concessions Staff              

│  → Merchandise Sellers                  

│  → Crowd / Audience                     

└───────────────────────

                    ↓

┌───────────────────────

│         Post-Show & Breakdown           

│  → Load-out Crew                        

│  → Equipment Transport Team             

│  → Clean-up Crew                        

The band took their inspirations from Rock 'n' Roll artists such as Chuck Berry, and Ray Charles, and were also heavily influenced by skiffle and blues music.

The 1960's brought optimism and a readiness for change. Goods were cheap and wages were high which meant less time working a job or doing chores are more free time for activities and entertainment. There was a demand for movies, fashion, art, sport, and music.

The Beatles in the 1960's represented the change that society had been begging for. Their free spirit and easy going personalities matched with their uplifting music gave the people of the world the opportunity to let their hair down. The break from the post war world and the beginning of a new, fresh era. The children of the Second World War were now young adults and ready to have fun (Hecl, 2006).

The Beatles would be broadcast to the entire country for the first time just a short few months later in February of 1964. This singular performance would skyrocket them in the USA as national sensations. Their cool, youthful aura and authentic charisma and charm reminded the country of their late president, they appeared to represent that same change.

The people of America took so strongly to The Beatles that the spring and summer of 1964 seemed to be bursting at the seems with this new so called 'Beatlemania'. The Beatle style, unique sounds and overall audacity seemed to speak to the impatient youth that were eager to move forward from post war and Kennedy's assassination (Leonard, 2016).

Teenagers of the 1950's and 60's were much more powerful than generations of youths that came before them; they had optimism, determination, and most importantly more money. This generations teenagers had good paying weekend/part-time jobs which means they had their own power to buy into music, separate from their parents who often favoured classical or jazz music. Teenagers of the 60's were buying transistor radios and hanging out with their friends and investing huge amounts of money into the music they liked to listen to, especially rock.

Rock music was seen to be the teenagers way of rebelling against their parents rules and ways of living and the surge of The Beatles only empowered that further. The connection was felt especially within teenage girls.

The Beatles in the early 60's were known for their sharp suits, mop top hair (that they loved to shake), and their soft boyish looks. These features sent teenage girls into a sexual frenzy. At every concert female Beatle fans can be seen screaming, crying, clawing at their faces in disbelief and overwhelming desire, and are also often seen fainting or taking unwell due to seeing their precious boys in the flesh. Girls united in this love and formed strong fan bases which kept The Beatles skyrocketing in fame (Sweeney, 1993).

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